Want to buy a pre-construction property for little money down and sell it before it is finished for a large profit? Well, you can't. That's what got everyone in trouble in the first place. But, there are still ways to make a fast buck in Florida real estate. Read this article to find out how.

Flipping
Florida Real Estate - Can It Still Be Done?

Buying and quickly turning over real estate is not as easy as it used to be. But, if you know what you are doing it can still be done.Flipping generally means that you buy a property and sell it in a short period of time for a profit. You are not looking to rent it out or sit on it for a year. In some instances, you are not looking to close on the property. The ideal situation, would be to reassign the right to purchase it at fixed price to another party.

For a while,
this was a pretty popular activity in Florida. People were buying
and selling like there was no tomorrow. But, for the average investor, those days are long over.

Flipping Real Estate for the Conservative Investor

We do not at this time deal in pre-construction sales. As an investor, I do not see the point in it. We want to keep you out of trouble and look for other ways to make a fast profit. Here are some techniques that we use.

Look for homes that just need "makeup, a new hairdo and new dress".

There are plenty of homes in Florida that are neglected, need a minimal amount of capital and a lot of elbow grease to enhance their curb appeal. They have been sitting empty for months. The pools are green, the lawns dried out, the walls might need some paint. In some instances you can dress up a kitchen with some cabinet re-facing or put down some inexpensive laminate flooring or new carpet, etc. A green lawn and some cheap landscaping can really change the way a potential buyer views the property.

People like "clean and fresh". It does not cost a lot of money to make a property "clean and fresh".

We saw a home that sold about two years ago for $589,000, recently sell for $265,000. The investor painted it, cleaned the pool, added landscaping, spent a few thousand on modern appliances, etc. All in all, I would guess that they put in about $8,000. The house now shows extremely well and would sell in a weekend at $325,000.

Do you think this house was a fluke? A one of a kind opportunity? It was not. There are plenty of homes like this available.

The problem is, there is a lot of competition looking for these properties. People are getting smarter. Instead of being afraid of real estate, they have been awoken to the fact that there is a lot of money to be made in all markets.

Rehabbing still provides plenty of opportunity to make fast profits in real estate. You do not have to do the work yourself.

When we use the term "rehab" we generally mean that the house needs more than some new paint or a carpet. Typically, there are repairs to be made before you can sell the home. But it does not mean that you have to pick up a hammer and do the repairs yourself. You can contract out all the work and still make a handsome profit.

Did you ever consider buying a home at a wholesale price, having some work done to rehab it and then resell it? Probably not. But you can make a ton of money doing just that.

Wholesale homes that "need work" go very fast. When I say "fast" I mean that sometimes a house is listed and its gone the same day. There are a lot of individuals looking for "fixer-up ers".

Experienced investors do not care about the condition of a house. They only care about how much it will cost to buy it, rehab it and what their profit will be when they sell it.

Of course you do not have to "flip" the home after rehabbing it. You could rent it out for a year or so and then sell it.

The information on this web site is provided as a guide for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be tax or legal advice. It is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Please consult with your own attorney, tax advisor and/or accountant for specific advice. Martin Unger is a licensed sales associate in the state of Florida and works with Royal Florida Realty.